Sainsbury’s Eco Superstore

Sainsbury’s latest Superstore in Wadsley Bridge, Sheffield was designed, specified and built with sustainability and the environment in mind.

The new Sainsbury’s Eco store designed by Sheffield architects Hadfield Cawkwell Davidson, was built by main contractors Barr Construction (now McLaughlin & Harvey) and is the retail giant’s first store to feature a steel and timber construction. A steel frame from the ground up to the sales floor and a timber frame to the ceiling with timber cassettes completing the roof helped to speed up the construction as well as reduce the carbon footprint of the store.

Equally important was the thermal efficiency of the fenestration. Senior’s innovative new thermally-efficient SF52 structural silicone glazed curtain walling system was chosen for the main entrance elevation.

Available fully capped, capless or a combination of the two, and with an almost unlimited range of colours and finishes both inside and out, the SF52 curtain wall offered Insight Architectural plenty of design flexibility.

The result is a dramatic façade that is easily recognisable from the main road and which creates a welcoming sense of light and space.

Additional Eco features of the new store include an energy efficient biomass system for managing water and heating plus rain water harvesting for flushing the toilets.

The Superstore is built on stilts over a 450 space carpark providing an innovative way of maximising available space. The store stocks both food and clothing ranges and features a restaurant, in-store bakery and dental practice.

With its innovative design and thermal efficiency features, the new store will help Sainsbury’s to achieve one of its 20 x 20 sustainability plan objectives: to reduce operational carbon emissions by 30% absolute and 65% relative, compared to 2005.